Here is a small ‘taster’ selection from numerous residencies I have completed in schools as part of CREATIVE IRELAND’s BLAST & TAP programmes and The DESIGN & CRAFT COUNCIL of IRELAND’s CRAFTed Programme (since 2014). Please note that the image holders here have numerous slides in them – please use the arrows to flick through the slides to get a flavour of the projects 🙂
As an Associate Artist with The Design and Craft Council of Ireland’s [D&CCoI] CRAFTed programme I delivered numerous art programmes on residencies in primary schools, bringing Craft and Design principles to the ‘new art curriculum’. I delivered the Continuing Professional Development Programme for Primary School Teachers during the transition.
Projects include observing wildlife and creating ceramic birds based on local species, using different hand dying and painting techniques and eco-printing fabrics to create flags and make back drops and scenery and characters for film work; creating animations about being different – standing out and blending in; creating books from hand made paper and exchanging visual diaries with a paired school; led forest school adventures into the woods and sea shore creating home made inks and inventing symbols from our foraged findings……
As a multi- media artist, with a firm bedrock in ceramics , sculpture, drawing and animation, my projects come from conversations with teachers and young people and often begin with an idea of connection and belonging. I trust in the process and allow projects to unfold with a little guidance following the interests and abilities of participants.
As an experienced CRAFTed artist I taught the D&CCoI ‘s Continuing Professional Development Course for the Arts Curriculum at West Cork Education Centre for 10 years, introducing primary teachers to the range of media and processes across the ‘new curriculum’, with an emphasis on creative play.
panelist Crawford Art Gallery Learn & Explore
Associate Artist and Education Panelist with The Design Skills course for the Junior Cycle in Secondary Art Education.
Associate Artist Kidsown Publishing Partnership
Panelist Teacher Artist Partnership and BLAST residency programmes in primary and Secondary Schools.
Artist Panelist with Cork County Council
ROAM artist Cork City Council and The irish Hospice Foundation with Creative Ireland
BLAST project at Scoil Mhuire 2025
Girls from 6th class were asked to contemplate the meaning of the their school crest. Here they are arranging the tiles they made to form their vison of what the ethos of the school means to them
see my blog about this project here Our Burning Love for Scoil Mhuire
Mural Project Kerry Pike 2025
Kerry Pike is on the Butter Road from Kerry to Cork. The school wished to celebrate this connection and the children drew images about their research.
The children tested colours and chose the ideas they liked best and we adapted this design for the wall.
We marked it iout and painted it together
Roam project mapping Cork’s Northside 2025
The ROAM website is now live here ROAM Cork
See my blog about the project here ROAM
and about work in progress here SPIRALS MEMORIES and here SPIRALS MAPS
and hear all about Knocka on top here MAPPING
A young person films the flags her classmates have put on a map of Cork city’s North East side showing special places
SIGNS for the FUNCHEON River – Glanworth Tidy Towns 2024
It was with great pleasure that I accepted a commission to work with Glanworth Tidy towns to create signs for the Funcheon River in collaboration with the children of 6th class in St Patrick’s School. We worked on themes of biodiveristy found and see in the area on a guided walk along its banks by the Old Mill.
We had a day of celebration with Glanworth tidy towns. This project was sponsored by the Local Authority Water programme and produced by Glanworth Tidy Towns. Here is a video about the project:
MURAL Creative Schools Project at Curraghalla NS 2023
I enjoy the energy and anticipation of co-creation with children, the colour and vibrancy of working together – this mural was made with all 21 students, from Junior Infants to sixth class, each contributing ideas about plants, ecology, creatures, and what the school means to them…and painting their colours onto the wall…the mural tells their story, imagined and real…look and you will see all 21 students and School adults here as well as the hills of north cork local ruined castle, church and school among the wild weeds and winged and legged creatures including the invisible bunnies in camouflage, a rainbow mouse without his cloak and other magical elements from kids digital gaming culture – we arrived at such a happy place … we even cured the weeping ghost who was trapped inside the wall with our colour.
CRAFTed RESIDENCIES
I have delivered programmes with CRAFTed (a programme sponsored by the Design and Crafts Council of Ireland) in Primary schools since 2013. The projects are co-created with teacher and students and take place over 5 sessions. There is an initial germ of an idea discussed in planning sessions with artist & teacher, we talk about methods and materials and current class interests. We begin with an initial site visit and drawing research. We reflect on the day’s session together and discuss where to take it next. Students make notebooks where they record their ideas and findings. The time in between sessions is vital for research and development, reflection happens at every stage and the programme develops according to findings along the way. Work is student led and based on an ethos of discovery.
GURRANEASIG FOREST SCHOOL CRAFTed 2020
We spent time together in the woods looking at the trees, undergrowth and forest floor, we made mini installations on site with things we found. We foraged and found interesting objects to bring back to the classroom to draw. We looked at Ogham writing and the Celtic Tree Calendar, we recreated our names in the woods using twigs and other natural materials. We made ink from oak galls and Autumn fruits. We listened to songs about nature and drew what we heard. We made Clay talismans and ritual vessels using icons based on our celtic tree.
CASTLEDONOVAN WONDER PROJECT CRAFTed 2019
We explored ideas from our class reader Wonder. We drew a character that was a misfit in some way, we made a map of where we live. We gathered bits of old rusty metal from around our homes, we picked leaves and flowers nearby the school, we used tie dye and eco dying to recreate the landscape in fabric, we made some beautiful prints and patterns. As we handled materials we developed a story around our character. We made a set for our character using our fabrics and maps and we made some animations.
CANOVEE BIRD WHISTLE PROJECT CRAFTed 2018
Canovee Birds 2018 – 5th and 6th class Bird whistle Project – Students noticed and researched local birds, asked questions found answers, they created colour palettes based on the bird’s plumage, explored texture and pattern and kept their findings in sketchbooks, they modeled bird-forms and then completed the engineering task to make the bird produce a whistle or a deep coo. They glazed their pots referring to the colour designs in their sketchbooks. The finished Bird Whistles were shown in The Hunt Museum in 2018.
DERRINACAHERA FLAG PROJECT CRAFTed 2017 to celebrate awarding of Yellow Flag for Diversity
Batik and Tie Dye based on European Countries National Flowers for inspiration and abstracting from botanical form to create designs. 3rd and 4the Classes
CREATIVE PLAY WITH TEACHERS
DESIGN CIRCLE 2021 Work with Teachers on The Design and Crafts Council of Ireland’s Continuing Professional Development and Mentoring for Art Teachers in the Junior Cycle of Secondary Education
Folding Diamonds with Students
Exploring artist’s technique to make a modular design based on Buckminster Fuller’s Geodesic Dome – A recycling Project using School waste printed paper and exploring geometry and the qualities, properties and behaviours of paper in folding and joining.
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